KUALA LUMPUR (June 2): The Malaysian Digital Economy Corp (MDEC) is hoping to attract more foreign investments from the United Kingdom via a collaboration with a UK state agency to jointly promote the adoption of digital economy solutions.

MDEC and UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) today to strengthen the two countries' partnerships in the ICT sector, to promote the growth of the digital economy in areas such as Internet of things (IoT), cloud technology, big data analytics, cybersecurity, e-commerce, financial technology (fintech) and artificial intelligence, through encouraging academia and industry collaboration.

The partnership will also facilitate the implementation of joint projects on research and development, as well as innovations in respect to sustainable smart cities development and technologies.

"Building on the long-standing historical ties and people links, the UK wants to partner Malaysia in cross-cutting technology, as a way to take our engagement into the future. We look forward to being a partner of choice to MDEC in developing Malaysia's ICT ecosystem," said British High Commissioner to Malaysia, Vicki Treadell.

MDEC chief executive officer Datuk Yasmin Mahmood said the agreement between the two countries sets a platform for Malaysian technology companies to expand into the global market, using the UK as a launchpad.

"We have been traditionally strong, in terms of investments. A few years ago, when MSC (Multimedia Super Corridor) was born, it was about making Malaysia as a destination for global technology companies to set up shop.

"Over the years, we have attracted RM283 billion in investments, and now we have 3,881 MSC-status companies operating in cyber cities throughout the country. With this bilateral agreement, Malaysia will be attracting more foreign investments from the UK and more Malaysian companies will look at the UK as a launchpad into the global market," said Yasmin at a press conference, following the MOU signing.

She added that Malaysian companies need to aim for higher growth, by looking beyond the local market and expanding regionally and globally. To cater for the bigger market, local companies need to be able to scale up their operations and products, she said.

Asked whether MDEC had specific targets in terms of securing more foreign investment via the bilateral partnership, Yasmin said there are internal targets in terms of the number of companies it intends to secure, but did not disclose the details.